


Royals

by Binarybee



Category: Brontide, The Tempest Series - T. D. Cloud
Genre: Amnesia, Angst, End of Book Spoilers, M/M, My heart hurt writing this
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-05
Updated: 2017-02-05
Packaged: 2018-09-22 02:30:35
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,810
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9578501
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Binarybee/pseuds/Binarybee
Summary: i.A throne room made of gold.There’s blood everywhere.You are not afraid.Task VIII, Royals, R.M.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by the poem Royals by R.Meisel. I've had this idea stuck in my head for three days and I couldn't sleep without posting it, hope you enjoy~

i.  
_A throne room made of gold._  
_There's blood everywhere._  
_You are not afraid._

 

Corbet had never seen this room before.

The impossibly tall ceilings, nature crawling up the walls breathing life into the otherwise desolate room, the earthen throne to his back boasted regality, the accents of gold striking against the firm mahogany. It was all so unfamiliar to him, but nostalgic at the same time. As if he had been here in a dream, familiarity embracing him like an old friend, a distant lover.  
His feet felt heavy, eyes downcast found blood pooling around his boots, ichor in his veins.

A body lay nearby, silken hair covering an otherwise impassive face, they nearly looked serene, tranquil perhaps, a slight hint of regret upon their features. Corbet almost felt pitiful, that would be if he could feel anything at all.  
A vague voice of a memory filtered in his mind, his now cold eyes surveying the limp body. He wondered if Avenir was still as cold to the touch as they had been before.

Avenir.

Yes, that had been their name.

The former Monarch of the Unseelie realm, the desolate winter court. Corbet didn't know why, but he felt the barest hint of apathy, as if he didn't belong with the Unseelie, as if he himself didn't belong at all.  
The Seelie perhaps, the summer court felt stronger, closer to home in his misguided mind, if he had had a home at all. The Seelie were light, the rich earthen tones of the forest danced on their tongues, alight with playfulness. The Unseelie dark, subdued compared to the brightness of the golden court, and Corbet-  
Corbet didn't know where he was to fit in.  
Dark eyes, dirt under his nails and blood peppered across his skin like freckles, alone with a body and golden throne. Corbet was lost once again, but this time, he didn't feel afraid. He embraced the unfamiliarity of it, the lack of anything but apathy.

If there was anything to fear, it was him. 

 

ii.  
_Pretend to offer him your mind._  
_Never offer the lump of beating muscles between your ribs._  
_Never let him see the monster behind your eyes._

 

Ruari was an odd creature, to say the least.

A fraction of Corbet's mind felt disdain towards him, he ignored the spark upon his fingertips as he placed the crown down upon Ruari's head, the red King had returned to what was rightfully his. 

Ruari had searched to find familiarity in those dark eyes; instead he had found something a kin to how Avenir looked at him. It burnt from the inside out, nothing felt right. Corbet was out of place, and Ruari took it upon himself to guide his lover back home into his arms.  
Corbet couldn't understand Ruari's frivolities. He couldn't understand much in his current state, mind new to the entire world, like a child learning to talk.  
Ruari who as beaten and injured as he was, still had the strength to smile, golden eyes flickered around the golden court. Ruari who held warmth and hope in his heart, his voice heavy with emotion. Ruari who begged for recognition in his lovers eyes. 

Corbet could only close his eyes in return, hide behind the mask of indifference. There was nothing for Ruari to find, his lost one now lost forever. Yet he held his head high, Ruari, proud Ruari of the Seelie Kingdom, would not admit defeat so easily. He would not falter; he had a kingdom to manage after all. And a lover that needed to return home.  
_Kill him._ The monster in his head roared, vindication burning through his veins, dull heart resonated within the confines of his chest. _Ruari is a fire that cannot be tamed._

But Corbet never listened to reason.

He never listened at all.

 

iii.  
_Pretend to bare your neck in submission._  
_Let him curl his fingers around the fleeting staccato of your pulse._

 

He felt the vibration of a mutter against his skin before Ruari kissed his neck. Corbet tilted his head, processing the words in his mind, another chaste kiss pressed upon his pale skin. Ruari's lips were warm, they almost felt familiar, like his lips belonged on his skin, Ruari born to worship him. Perhaps he was, Corbet mused in the back of his mind, his mind didn't argue this time, it had been doing that often, his mind reminding him of something long forgotten, but the memory was gone before Corbet could even fathom what was lost. He pushed the thoughts aside, there were more pressing issues.

It didn't make sense to Corbet, who now spoke fluently in the fae language, when Ruari would occasionally slip into French. The whisper of 'ma chérie' on Ruari's tongue as he kissed Corbet's knuckles, almost as if he was speaking to a French lover.  
Corbet would follow with his eyes as Ruari continued the trail of kisses down his neck and chest, golden eyes flickered up to stare into impassive darkness searching. Whatever Ruari was looking for, he never found it. Corbet found it tedious, Ruari was becoming a pest of sorts, he would have to douse his flame.

He changed his pace, Ruari threaded his fingers into dark hair, the urge to curl the locks around his fingers. Briefly Corbet wondered if Ruari would kill him, the pads of his thumbs pressed against his pulse point. It would be futile, he thought, Corbet doubted he even had a pulse.

There was only ichor burning in his veins. 

 

iv.  
_Call him love when he chokes you._

 

Ruari's hands were soft, _they always were_ , the voice in the back of his mind called, but Corbet paid it no attention.

Ruari with his soft hands, heavy heart as he tilted his lover's head, Corbet's mouth parted slightly and Ruari held back the urge to kiss him breathless. Just like he used to, to ease Corbet's thoughts and curiosities, his mind flickered back to their first kiss and then the night they shared beneath the faerie lights. Corbet had been so intrigued, the fae world foreign and new, there was no light of curiosity in his eyes now. 

Ruari had taken to calling him love now. Corbet paid him no mind, from what he knew of the red King, Ruari was awful fond of him. And if it was love, it would be dealt with. Corbet felt oh so little sentiment, his emotions subdued, a ghost of the lost soul he had once been. It was a vast difference from how he had been before, it almost pained Ruari to see his Corbet in such a state. He longed for his lover's return.  
_Curious Corbet_ , Ruari would whisper, lips pressed to the shell of his ear as they slept, his dearest lost one.  
But that was a time long ago it seemed. 

Corbet shut his eyes and allowed Ruari's wandering hands to fasten the neck piece around a pale throat, silver had always suited him. Dark eyes, dark hair and drawn to silver, much like a magpie Ruari mused, but he knew all too well.

His Corbet was a raven. 

 

v.  
_Wear his crown and kiss him._  
_Pretend you don't taste blood on his lips._  
_Pretend you don't taste death on his tongue._

 

It had been easy to play along.

Corbet had danced, held in Ruari's arms as the royal guards watched. His footsteps followed in a lazy waltz, Ruari seemed at ease; grip tight on his lover’s hip, guiding them through the motions this way and that. Corbet had even faked a smile and Ruari, whether he saw through it or was too deluded to notice, grinned back.  
It was even easier to steal Ruari's crown as he slept.

The Seelie king looked so peaceful, serene and oblivious to Corbet's intentions, the gentle hand that would dethrone him carding through red locks, a contrast from what felt familiar. The motion had stirred Ruari, golden eyes fluttering open, lashes kissing his cheeks, on his tongue a murmur of Corbet's name, half awake and concerned.  
Corbet pressed a kiss to his temple, he gained nothing from it yet it seemed to soothe Ruari who turned and nuzzled closer into his lovers side, head tilted up, lips begging to be kissed. 

Corbet complied if only to keep Ruari at bay, to usher the dozing fae back to sleep. Ruari let out a noise of approval, petal soft lips so familiar pressed against his own, his mind urged to deepen it. To pull Corbet back into his arms, kiss him like they had kissed on the first night they made love, to have his lost one unravel underneath him.  
He muttered Corbet's name once again against his lovers lips, half asleep and smiling, for the first time in what felt like forever, Ruari felt at peace. Corbet felt like warmth, curiosity and stubbornness mixed together, a memory of faint laughter fell upon his ears. Corbet belonged with him, in his arms, his mind his heart.  
Corbet felt like home, and Ruari couldn't feel more content. 

When Corbet pulled away he tasted blood. 

 

vi.  
_Kill him when he least expects it._  
_Tell him you don't love him._  
_Tell him you never did._

 

"I've always loved you. I always will." Ruari gasped out, Corbet's eyes widened with confusion, melancholy rising like bile in the back of his throat. 

Hands wracked his lover’s neck, stealing his final breath through a forlorn kiss. There was no disdain on Corbet's tongue, no hatred or mirth that he had tasted before. Ruari felt like the sun, and kissed with such sorrow, heart mournful.

And in Corbet's eyes Ruari saw the fleeting of burnt amber among the dark hues.  
And on Corbet's lips, Ruari felt the faintest conviction of love. 

He remembered, if only faintly.  
In this game of royal chess, Ruari had won, albeit at a loss of a life.

The body fell to the floor, royalty stood, back to his lover.  
A sigh escaped his lips; head fell heavy in his hands.  
He was ruler of both courts now, but oh, how heavy was the head that burdens the crown. 

There was a shallow knock. The door to the throne room opened.  
"Your majesties I-"  
The fae stopped, hands raised to her face in shock. Breena let out a steady breath, voice hitching as she spoke. Her eyes cast between the body on the floor and the royal standing close by, blood on his hands, ichor now in his veins. "No... Not again."

Ruari closed his eyes, walking away from the body of his lover, still heart, no rise in his lungs.  
"It's over." He muttered, voice cold, no warmth in his eyes, it had all left with Corbet's corpse on the golden floor. Lover now lost.

No,

His Corbet was lost a long time ago.

**Author's Note:**

> Bad end of sorts? Aka a 'please don't let this happen in canon' fic. How can people write angst my heart hearts I want to eat an entire cake now,


End file.
